Their Last Chance
by articcat621
Summary: As Hermione lies dying, she gets one last chance to tell him how she really feels.


A/N: This was written for the DramioneLove Adopt-A-Prompt Fest 2015 on LJ. This is a Zombie!AU and will most likely make you cry. Many thanks to KyrieColors and SweetTale4U for your help with this. Enjoy! xx

Warnings: Language, Alternate Universe, Character Death, Zombies.

Disclaimer: In its use of intellectual property and characters belonging to JK Rowling, Warner Bros, Bloomsbury Publishing, et cetera, this work is intended to be transformative commentary on the original. No profit is being made from this work.

* * *

 **Their Last Chance**

Hermione laid in the white bed in an all-white room. She didn't know why St. Mungo's decorated itself this way. Perhaps it was to show how clean it was? She sighed, absolutely hating it. She hated that the last color she would ever see was white.

She cast her glance towards her shoulder that was covered in white bandages. Although she couldn't see it, she knew what lay beneath it.

A bite mark.

She cursed herself once more for her stupidity. She allowed herself to be distracted. Her career as an Auror was over. Hell, her life was over. It was only a matter of time now before the zombie bite became infected and turned her.

Zombies. She had never expected the ruin of the wizarding world to be zombies. A few years after the defeat of Voldemort, it was discovered that he had been experimenting with Inferi and had successfully created an army of the Undead. They were difficult to kill – fire wasn't enough. The Aurors, of which she was a member, developed a method of killing them. They would be dispatched in groups for zombie removal. Their methods worked; however, there was one problem: the zombies were killing more than they were being killed.

The Aurors could take out hundreds of zombies in one day, but in that time, more were created. The infection was spreading quickly, leaking out into the Muggle world. They were helpless to stop it, but they tried nonetheless.

Hermione had been on a mission when she was bit. Ron was attacked by two, and in a moment of weakness, Hermione tried to help him. She was so focused on him that she didn't hear the zombie behind her until it was too late. It had bitten her, tearing open her shoulder painfully. Rancid teeth had torn into her snow white skin, ripping the tendons and cleaving the flesh from the bone.

Harry had saved her, but it was too late. There was no cure for the bite. She would lie in St. Mungo's until she died, having already said her good-byes to Harry and the rest of the Weasley clan.

The door slammed open and a medi-witch came in, a body floating behind her. Hermione tried to sit up, watching as she placed someone in the bed next to hers.

"Leave me be," the person growled, pushing the medi-witch away. The medi-witched huffed before turning and leaving, slamming the door behind her as she left.

"Hello?" Hermione asked questioningly. "Were you bit too?"

The stranger pulled the curtain back all the way, revealing himself. He wore a bandage around his waist and over half his face. He had blond hair and a grey eye – an eye that she would recognize anywhere.

"Draco?" she asked, disbelievingly. Last she had heard, his group of Aurors had been dispatched into Muggle London.

"Granger?" He turned his head to see her with his eye. "Shite, I hadn't heard that they'd gotten you."

She sighed, nodded sadly. "Snuck up right behind me. I didn't hear him until it was too late. You?"

"It happened during the night. They must have gotten my two Aurors on duty while the rest of us were sleeping. They came into the tents. One woke me up when he took a chunk out of my side. I pulled my wand out and disposed of it as another came and got me in the face. Longbottom got him off me, but it was obviously too late." He shook his head. "He should have just let the fucker kill me. It's not like I'm going to live long here."

"It's morbid, isn't it?" Hermione asked quietly. "I didn't expect to have company as I died."

"Me neither," Draco said, looking at her once more. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I had really hoped you'd make it through this."

She looked at him and felt her emotions bubble up within her. She had been harbouring feelings for Draco for years now, but never acted on them. She knew that he was betrothed to Astoria Greengrass, so it didn't make sense for her to tell him. _But now_ … What could it hurt?

"Can I tell you something?" she asked nervously. "It's been on my chest for a while, but I never told anyone because I knew it didn't matter in a way. But seeing as we're both about to die, I wanted to tell you something."

"Granger?" Draco asked. "You can tell me anything. We were partners for a while… You could have trusted me with your secret."

"But it's about you."

"Go on," he said encouragingly.

She took a deep breath. "I wanted to let you know before I died. I… I needed you to know." She paused, tears welling up in her eyes. She sniffed, trying to get control of her emotions.

"Hermione? Please don't cry. Whatever it is, don't cry." Draco sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "I know our situation sucks Merlin's saggy testicles, but please don't cry, because then I'm going to cry."

That made her laugh somewhat. "I never pegged you as a crier."

"Being on your deathbed can do that to you."

She sniffed, reaching up with her good arm to wipe away her tears. "Okay, Draco." She sighed. She needed to get this off her chest. "I like you." She paused and when he didn't say anything, she continued. "I like you a lot. I've had a crush on you for years. I wanted you to know before we're gone."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Draco asked, his voice quiet.

Hermione laid back against the pillows, her gaze up at the tiled, white ceiling. "I was going to, after training, but then your engagement was announced in the _Prophet_ , and I couldn't bear to tell you."

"I didn't love Astoria," Draco replied. "I don't love her at all. There was a reason I kept pushing back our wedding date." He coughed violently for a moment, blood splattering over his sleeve.

"Why?" she asked, almost afraid of his answer.

"Because I felt the chemistry between us," Draco said, his voice sounding raw and painful. "But then you didn't want to be my partner anymore, and it hurt. I thought then that you saw my feelings and were rejecting me."

"Never," she answered quietly, laughing to herself.

"What's so funny?" he asked, trying to sit up fully so he could look at her. He grunted as he did so.

Hermione ignored the throbbing pain in her shoulder. It had now spread up to her neck and through her entire arm. _Not long now_ , she thought to herself. "We wasted so much time," she said sadly, sniffling. "If I had known…"

"If I had known," Draco repeated. "When this whole thing happened, I wanted to take you and run. I wanted to head to Antarctica, or some other remote location, and keep you there. I wanted us to be safe, together until it finally made it to where we were."

"Why didn't you?" she questioned.

"You weren't mine to take," he replied sadly. "I saw you decide to stay. When you made your decision, I made mine. I stayed and fought, so I could be close to you."

"I wish I had known," Hermione said once more, wincing.

"You okay?" Draco asked, noticing the flash of pain that had appeared on her features.

"Not long now," Hermione said sadly. "It's been over a day. I'm surprised I've lasted that long."

"I don't have much time either," Draco said, sliding off the bed. His feet hit the floor and he stood, wobbling for a moment. "I'm losing sight in my good eye."

"What a pair we make," she said, crying once more. "I don't want to die, Draco."

He walked towards her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting up slightly.

"Scoot over," he said, gesturing with his hands.

Although it was painful, Hermione did as he said. She scooted over slightly and made room for him. He climbed into the bed next to her, careful not to jostle her shoulder.

"I don't want to die either, Hermione, at least not before doing this." He gently cupped her cheek before leaning forward and kissing her. The kiss was light and brief, but it was enough. Hermione could taste the coppery blood on his lips, mingled with a lifetime of repressed emotions.

She sighed softly. "Thank you, Draco." Hermione reached up and lovingly caressed his unmarred cheek. She brushed away some of his tears. Her heart started to hurt, and she found it was painful to breathe. "Draco," she gasped.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. They both cried out in pain as they did this, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered anymore.

"Draco," Hermione cried, her body shaking. She pressed her face against his chest, tears streaming down her face.

"Let go, Hermione," he said softly, his vision going blurry before darkness consumed it. He could no longer see. "Don't hold on anymore. Let go."

She inhaled his musky scent and smiled, before exhaling her last breath.

Draco felt her body still in his arms and knew that she must have passed on. Closing his eyes, he turned off the pain as well. _Goodbye, Hermione_.

* * *

The medi-witch came in moments later, the wards on the room alerting her to their passing. She looked at their entwined form and frowned. She hadn't known the two of them were together, but at least they would be together in death.

Pointing her wand at the pair, she made quick work of disposing of them.


End file.
